


For the Bruised and Broken

by Mamagou



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb Widogast Deserves Nice Things, Caleb Widogast Has Issues, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, Caleb Widogast-centric, F/F, F/M, Hurt Caleb Widogast, Hurt Nott | Veth Brenatto, M/M, Mighty Nein as Family, Mollymauk Tealeaf Has Feelings, Mollymauk Tealeaf Lives, Multi, Mute Caleb Widogast, Nonbinary Mollymauk Tealeaf, Nott | Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast Friendship, Nott | Veth Brenatto Has Issues, Nott | Veth Brenatto Needs a Hug, Other, POV Caduceus Clay, POV Caleb Widogast, POV Nott | Veth Brenatto, Protective Nott | Veth Brenatto, some what
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:27:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29394069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mamagou/pseuds/Mamagou
Summary: A story inspired by the last chapter of 'A mote of Possibility' bySwissArmyKnife
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Caleb Widogast, Caduceus Clay & Fjord, Caduceus Clay & The Mighty Nein, Mollymauk Tealeaf & Caleb Widogast, Mollymauk Tealeaf & Yasha, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast, Nott | Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast, The Mighty Nein & Caleb Widogast, The Mighty Nein & Nott | Veth Brenatto
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

Caduceus was in a pickle. He had been wandering around Zadash and got lost and separated from the rest of the group, ending up in the crowded slums of the city. He was standing in the middle of the street like an idiot as people ignored him when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down and saw a little half-elf girl with dirty blond hair and blue-grey eyes.

She was craning her neck so she could look at him and she was clearly curious about him. “Oh hello, did you need something?” He said, smiling at the girl. Though he noticed that the clothing she was wearing was rather thin, to thin for a child for the weather they are in. It was coming close to winter.

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, looking him up and down, an expression that made her look older than she clearly was, before saying, “Your hair is pink,” in a rather blunt manner.

“It is,” he replied with a small chuckle.

“And you didn’t dye it,” she said, pointing up at him, “Your eyelashes are pink too.”

“That they are,” he said as he knelt down to her height, “Im Caduceus.”

“Your ears are long, and your nose is flat and soft but you’re not sick,” She said, trying to figure what he is, “And you have fur like a cat but shorter.”

“Yes, I do.”

“I’ve never seen someone like you so what are you?”

“I’m a firbolg,” he said, looking around the brick buildings and crowded streets, “I guess you don’t see many of us here, in Zadash.” She reached her hand out to touch his fur on his arms.

“You seem nice, nicer than most adults,” she mumbled something under her breath before she looked up and asked, “Do you have something to eat?”

He reached into his small pouch on his belt. Jester kept an eye on most of his wealth when they found out he didn’t really have any experience with money, living in the grove his whole life. ‘So he didn’t waste it on things they didn’t need, like tea’, Beau claimed. Either way, he still had some coin on him. He grabbed a handful out and opened his palm, letting the silver and bronze coins flow over his hand. “I am afraid I am new to this,” he said, “how much is it for a good meal?”

The girl’s eyes sparkled with something he couldn’t quite place and her mouth was slightly agape. She quickly grabbed one of the few gold coins and a few silver and tucked them away somewhere on her person. Gingerly, she closed his hand around the rest, looking around for something. “Best don’t show them around, you never know whose watching.”

He was confused, but none the less he put the coins back in his pouch. They clinked together as they went into the bag, making the girl wince slightly. “I better go home,” she said stepping away, “good luck, mister cowman. Be careful.” She said before darting away from him, disappearing into the sea of people who weren’t paying attention to them.

He stood up straight, not knowing if he should be offended or not. Don’t get him wrong, cows were handsome animals, but not everyone thought the same. After deciding that she meant no offence, he noticed that, despite it just being early afternoon, the sun was already setting. People began drifting off the street, either to homes or taverns. Caduceus looked around a bit more before beginning to try his way again.

He turned a corner, into an ally way and was immediately greeted by weapons and armour. “Oh hello,” he said, looking at the goliath who was smirk who was in front of him, a few feet ahead. Caduceus didn’t read the situation very and step forwards. “I seem to be lost, can you help me?”

“Oh we can help you,” an orc stepped into view, “all that coin must be heavy.” It was then that the firbolg realized what was happening and turned around to find that his exit was blocked by three tall figures. All of their weapons out. “Now hand over all your coin, armour and weapons and you’ll be sent on your way,” the orc said as he stepped forward, reaching his hand out.

Caduceus was about to try and talk his way out when… “Ach!” the orc cried out in pain as a crossbow bolt lodged its self into his hand.

“You won’t do a thing,” a small figure walked out of the shadow and in front of him, “you’re in our territory.”The small humanoid ( _a halfling maybe?)_ woman spoke without fear. Strangely, there was no crossbow in sight so she must have someone with her. Somewhere in the shadows or on top of the building.

The orc growled at her and stood his ground while the rest of the team seemed to look in fear of the halfling woman. “I don’t care, _Nott the Brave_ , this isn’t your business.”

“Oh, but it is as **you** are on **my territory **and ** you do not **serve ** me**,” she growled back, “ **So get off.** ”

The orc went to move forwards when his shoulder was grabbed by one of the others, who whispered, rather loudly, “Boss, that’s the Grand Mistress of Night, The Bitter gift, **The Mother of Bones**.” He was visibly scared of the woman ( _Nott?_ ) “One half of the duo who took out The Crimson Fangs Alone.”

“I know,” The Orc growled back, slapping the hand off, “I’m not dumb nor am I blind. She ain’t much though; she doesn’t even have a weapon on her.” He then tried stepping forward only to stop when a click sound was heard. It was then that they noticed the tip of a crossbow sticking out of her sleeve.

“That is where you and wrong and unless you want to challenge me and end up with more bolts sticking out of you,” Nott said, “I suggest you leave.” Nott and the Orc had a bit of a standoff before he stood down and told his men to go. After all the men were gone, she turned to him. He was slightly surprised to see that under that hood were glowing yellow eyes. “You’re not from here are you?”

“No, travelling with friends.”

“Come on then.”

“Where are you going?”

“Taking you back to the main part of the city,” She said, making eye contact, “you won’t survive a night here and I saw that you were nice to Dawn.”

“Dawn?” He asked as he caught up to her. The street was no long crowed as the sun disappeared underneath the horizon.

“The little girl,” she said, “in a way she works for me like many of the children do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean many of the kids have to survive on their own. Many prostitutes live around here as that is the only way they can live. In turn, there are many unwanted children who are not cared for. Before we showed up they were completely on their own, sloppily stealing from anyone they can. So we taught the ropes, to ask for money before stealing. People are more likely to give money to children on the street then adults. Still, many people tell them to fuck off. So we make sure they don’t get caught and if they do, we deal with it.

“In turn, they bring us most of the money they make so we can divide it equally among all of us, so at the end of the day, even if someone got none, everyone would have a little. That is how our system works. How it’s all ways worked.” She said.

“Why do you keep saying we?”

“I do have another half, you know,” she said, “Keep heading that way and you should reach something familiar.”

“Thank you, Nott-” he turned to find her gone already. As he walked the way she directed, he decided that he liked Nott the Brave.


	2. Chapter 2

Caduceus went back to the slums a few days later. This time he knew the way back, thanks to Nott, and hopefully he wouldn’t have any problems. He stopped along the way at an old stone fountain that had moss and weeds growing on it. Though he didn’t sit there for long as he didn’t have long. He wanted to talk to Nott before they left town.

He reached the edge of the slums and once again, the street was crowded by people doing their thing. Caduceus looked around before spotting a familiar face. Dawn was sitting atop a large crate on a small blanket next to a man he didn’t recognize. The man was scanning the crowd. Caduceus couldn’t make out the fine details but he could tell that the man had auburn hair and wore an old dirty coat with make shift pockets. There was a cat next to him, which he was petting as kept a watchful eye out on the crowd.

He turned to Dawn and she handed him something before jetting down. He tucked whatever she had given him into his pocket before going back to scanning the crowd, keeping an eye on something? It was then that the pink-haired firbolg noticed them. Children slipping through the crowds, sticking their hand into people’s purses or just taking the entire pouch. Nott wasn’t lying about what they did.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a tug on his sleeve and a small “Mister Caduceus.” He looked down and saw that Dawn was now by his side. She shot him a toothy closed eyes smile and said, “Hi.” She was missing one of her front teeth, he noticed.

“Hello, Dawn,” He said, smiling gently at before turning his attention back to the man as another child went over to him. “Who is that man?”

“Hmm?” She looked where he was looking, “Oh that’s just Big Brother Caleb. I sort of work for him. He’s nice. Not so sure why some of the mean adults seem to be afraid of him.”

“By taking coin from adults?”

She looked up at him and said, “I thought Mama Nott explained it to you.”

He was about to say something when he heard a yell. He turned and saw a crownsguard wearing the bronze and vermillion uniform, holding a child up by the arm. Dawn gasped, “That’s Lin! He must have been caught pinching.” While her words didn’t sound concerned, her tone did.

He was struggling to get out of the older man’s grasp and Caduceus felt his temper flair when the man started shaking Lin in the air. He started making his way over when out the corner of his eye, he saw the man from before, Caleb, get down from where he was perched. Caduceus now under stood why he was sitting up there.

As Caleb past one of the stalls, he flicked his hand and the stall’s awning caught fire. The guard practically threw Lin as he moved to dose the flame. Before Lin could hit the ground, however, Caleb caught him and gently placed him down. Another crownsguard noticed and yelled “You!” pointing at Caleb, who instinctively moved Lin behind him. The guard grabbed the red haired man’s collar and yelled, “You lilt that flame, didn’t you.”

Caleb didn’t answer; rather he tried to free himself. When he couldn’t, he motion for Lin to go, which the kid did. The Guard growled and punched him, before throwing him to the ground. Caleb sat up before spitting out a small amount of blood. He must have hurt something in his mouth. Wither it was his teeth or it was his tongue or even his cheek, he didn’t know.

The guard kicked him in the ribs, which clearly hurt more as he started coughing. Dawn tucked her head into Caduceus’s clothing and sobbed quietly. He started walking again, quicker this time. “Excuse me!” He called out as he reached the scene.

The guard turned with scowl but it quickly disappeared when he got a proper look at Caduceus. His eyes racked over the firbolg and his armor. He clearly didn’t look like anyone who lived around here as his armor, clothing, and weapons were much too nice for that. Even the guards them self seemed to have cheaply make armor and weapons. So Caduceus’s custom made beetle armor stuck out like a sore thumb.

Caleb looked over at him as he came to a stop in front of the guard, who had to crane his neck to look in the eyes. The guard cleared his throat before saying, with as much authority as he could, “Sir, while your concern is appreciated, it would be best if you didn’t get involved. This riff-raff is an arsonist. He just set fire to a shop, and now he’s being belligerent. It’s my responsibility to see justice is done.”

“How do you know it was him,” Caduceus’s tone didn’t match his sweet smile as he spoke. There was a glint of fear in the guard’s eyes, nearly identical to the one in the boy’s eye mere moments earlier.

“This man is a street performer and has been seen interacting with the little thieves around here, and guess what he uses in his racket? Fire tricks. I’ve been eyeing him ever since I got assigned to this neighborhood, trying to figure out his angle, and now here we are.”

The guard was pressing every single one of his buttons. Caduceus grits his teeth before saying, “The fact that he uses fire in his performance is circumstantial evidence at best. And there’s barely a scorch mark on the awning. That’s hardly arson. Besides, I wouldn’t call hitting someone or shaking a child justice.”

The guard was backed into a corner, so he did what any cornered animal does, lash out. ““Look. You don’t seem like you’re from around here, so let me explain something to you. Garbage like _this_ –” He jerked at the man on the ground harshly, drawing a low growl like noise from him. “– are nothing but trouble. They clutter up the street and do no good to anybody. He ain’t a citizen. He’s a fucking parasite. And any time I can put one down, the better off Zadash will be. So you just move along and let me take care of my business so I can put this raggedy piece of trash where he –”

“Hey now,” Caduceus spoke and the man froze as he made eye contact with the firbolg. He set his hand down on the guards shoulder, and cast a low level ‘inflicted wounds’ on him. Not enough to hurt him badly but it made him wince. “This is getting a bit too intense. Why don’t we all **Calm Down?** ” The guard looked around for someone to help him. His gaze stopped at the stall owner.

“You know, he has a point. That awning’s barely marked,” they said, “and my goods are untouched.”

The guard having nothing growled, before knocking Caduceus’s hand off of him. “Whatever,” he grumbled before walking away. The cleric watched him leave and when he turned back to Caleb, Lin and few other kids of various ages were helping him up.

“Are you alright?” Caduceus moved forwards, and he could see the man’s face was bruising. He reached out with two fingers, “I can-” Caleb stepped back. Caduceus let his hand fall to his side and smiled at the mad. Fjord had told him it was rude to force healing on people without asking, but it just seemed so strange when he could so easily fix a cut or a bruise. “Sorry, sorry. I was just trying to take a look at your face. He hit you hard.”

Caleb’s blue eyes narrows with a glint of distrust and something else that Caduceus couldn’t quite place. He noticed the ginger cat reappeared at the man’s feet and was rubbing up against his ankles. Caduceus shifted when the man still didn’t answer. “Big Brother Caleb!” Dawn join the group of kids surrounding Caleb slightly, “You look okay!”

Caleb’s face relaxed slightly when he looked at the half-elf girl. He then forefinger against his forehead, a gesture that confused the firbolg greatly.

“This is Mister Caduceus! He’s the one who gave me the silver and a whole gold coin a few days ago. I know it’s too dangerous to carry that much. Then Zhag and his gang ware trying to mug him, and Mama Nott put him on the big road, but he came back for some reason. He’s from far away. Like, outside the Outer stead even. He pulled his purse out right in front of everybody.” Dawn answered as though he’d asked a question.

Caleb hummed in response. The he rubbed his thumbs and forefingers together in a twisting motion, like undoing a button.

“I haven’t seen her since earlier. Do you want me to look?” He shook his head before pulling out a small wire. He tapped it with his finger in a series of long and short beats. While he was doing that, the children were examining Caduceus’s armor. “It’s like a beetle!” Lin said with a bright smile. Caduceus endured there interest with good humor until a face appeared over the top of the building, a familiar one, recessed visage looking out from under a hood.

Nott jumped down from the roof, springing agilely from crate to street level without so much as a misstep. “Mama Nott!” The kids greeted her. Nott smiled as Caduceus stood up.

“I came as quick as I could. Is everything alright?” Caleb made a seesawing motion with his hand, gazing at Caduceus. She glanced in his direction, rolled her eyes, and said, “Yeah, I get the picture.”

“Mister Caduceus made the crownsguard leave Big Brother Caleb alone,” one of the older kids said. “You know that one with the twitching eye that stands on the corner and scowls at everyone? He caught Lin stealing from one of the stalls, and Mister Caleb distracted him.”

Nott hummed as she looked at Caleb, and specifically at his face. “He hit you? On I am going to tear his face off and then hang him up as an example for everyone else!” She hissed. Caleb rolled his eyes slightly.

To Dawn, Caduceus whispered, “She sounds very serious.”

“Of course, she does,” Dawn whispered back, “She’s his **mom**. Well, she is like everyone mom, but mostly his.”

“And you should get back home before the sun sets,” Nott said as she turned back to the kids, “All of you should.”

“What about Mister Caduceus?” Asked Lin.

“We’ll take care of him. Now get. All of you.” One by one the kid left, making their ways back home.

“Bye Mister Caduceus!” Called Dawn as she made her way home.

Caduceus waved to her. “Goodbye.” Which left him alone with Nott and Caleb. It made him uncomfortable, even He liked Nott. He struggled to find the right way to start a conversation. “Well, hello again.”

Nott’s yellow eyes burned out of her hood. He tried squinting to get a better look at her, but not only did the hood obscure most of her features, but she was also wearing a mask. It hadn’t looked like a mask at first because it was shaped with a nose and painted lips, but those features didn’t stand up to scrutiny. They were fixed in place – ceramic, he thought, like a doll. Strange.

“What are you doing back here?”

“I wanted to speak to you again before we left town again. And I couldn’t really stand by while Caleb got hurt. What that guard was planning wasn’t justice.”

“If it’s justice you’re looking for, you’re in for a disappointment. Best you can do is look after your own. Thank you though,” She paused for a moment. “Still, I suppose we’re going to have to do something with you. It’s too late to waltz out of the Outer stead without getting harassed by more guards, and you’re not exactly subtle.” Caleb laid his hand on her arm, tapping with his thumb. She waited, then looked at him with an expression Caduceus might have called vulnerable. “Are you sure, Caleb? He’s a stranger.”

Caleb met Caduceus’s eyes, and Caduceus read many things including speculation, curiosity, and gratitude. It seemed Caleb wasn’t insensible of Caduceus’s intervention on his behalf after all. As for what Caleb read from Caduceus, who knew? Whatever it was, it was enough. He nodded. When Nott’s brow remained wrinkled, he smiled at her, smoothing it with his thumb. She scoffed, shoving at his hand gently, but it was impossible to miss the tenderness in the exchange. “Alright, come on. Follow us.”

Surprised, Caduceus had to make his first strides long to avoid being left behind. “Wait. Where are we going?”

“Home.”


	3. Chapter 3

Their home turned out to be an abandoned building. The entrance was nailed shut with boards, but around the side, a stack of crates allowed access to a gap large enough for a person to get through. Caleb helped Nott through before following her. Their movements were a lot more practised then Caduceus’s and he was much taller so he took a little longer to get through.

When he finally got through, he saw that the building looked like it once was a stable. There were wooden partitions and troughs for feeding, all empty except for cobwebs. The smell of animals was covered by the smell mold, but Caduceus didn’t mind that. It was actually reassuring after the aroma of the street – of pitch, and waste, and plaster. The wood slowly descending into rot was infinitely more familiar and comforting. It reminded him of home.

The duo lead him up a ladder, which deposited them in a loft. Straw had been moved around so there is a clear part of the loft, and in the starlight coming through an open window, he saw a bundle of blankets off to the side. Nott moved to close the shutters, and Caleb picked up a candle. He seemed to light it with his fingers. It was either a trick of the light or more fire magic. Almost at once, their shoulders dropped and the two of them grew smaller. It was as though the elastic tension holding them together released, and now they returned to their real selves.

Caleb moved over to a crate that acted as a table and began to empty his pockets on to it. He had half a loaf of stale bread, an apple, and some cheese. He also put a small purse on the ‘table’ too. Nott took the purse and dumped the contacts on the floor.

“Not bad,” She said, “Everyone did well today, even with the distractions.” She seemed to glare a bit at Caduceus when he said that, but Caleb huffed a kind of laugh, and her expression mellowed. It held so much love and happiness in it. “Seriously, though. It’s been a day.”

“It certainly didn’t go as _I_ expected,” Caduceus agreed, taking a seat on the floor. Though the Wildmother often worked through tiny deviations. A stone shifted in its place could turn the course of a stream, and, with time, change the face of an entire landscape. The beat of a butterfly’s wing could move a seed in a different direction, and boom! There was a tree where it otherwise wouldn’t have been. And many more little things. He often thought that coincidence was almost as magic as spells.

He was broke out of his thoughts by Nott’s voice, “Who are **You** anyway?”

They already knew his name, but he suspected she were more interested in his story, what had brought him to the slums of Zadash or Zadash in general. As Nott, the guard, and Dawn had put it, he didn’t really belong here. And he knew he really didn’t. “I’m Caduceus Clay, and as I said, im Traveling with my friends. We are here for supplies, rest, and work, I suppose? It’s a little unclear.” He smiled. “I believe we’re adventurers.”

Caleb’s head lifted at the word ‘Adventurers’. “Adventurers,” Nott said. “Like, you fight dragons and find treasure and stuff like that?”

“Sort of?” Caduceus remained uncertain about the exact manifesto of his little group, though he was convinced of their good intentions. “We haven’t fought any dragons and there’s only been a bit of treasure, but we did rescue people from slavers. I feel really good about that.”

Nott’s eyes were wide with interest under her cowl. “Slavers, huh? Sounds dangerous.”

“It can be,” Caduceus admitted, “but I’m a healer, so I do my best to keep everyone alive. I even raised someone from the dead once. Only once; that can really upset the natural order of things. But there were special circumstances, and the Wildmother seemed okay with it.”

Caleb made a motion with his hand as if he were pulling a string from his heart. Then he clasped two fingers together. Nott nodded before asking, “What about those friends of yours? Will they be worried about you if you don’t go back to the Inn tonight?”

Caduceus hadn’t given that much thought since earlier in the afternoon as he was planning to head back after talking to Nott, but now that he was, he frowned slightly. He didn’t exactly tell them where he was going. He could definitely imagine Fjord rubbing his hand over his face as they walked and Beau cussing at people on the road, asking if they’d seen him wandering around. However, he didn’t think they’d be _too_ concerned, at least not until tomorrow.

“They’re probably looking for me,” he said, turning his head over to her. “But I don’t think they’ll be that worried as long as I meet them sometime tomorrow.”

Nott nodded. Caleb then shifted, hissing as he did so. It was the sound of pain, and Nott immediately went to peer in his face, clearly concerned. “That guard did a number on you. And so soon after the last time. Do your ribs still hurt? Will you need to stay here tomorrow?”

Unable to ignore suffering, Caduceus walked over and knelt down in front of them. Nott seemed to tense slightly as he did so. “Please let me take a look. As I told you, I’m a healer.” They looked at each other, trying to figure out if they can trust him. It hurt him slightly that he offered to heal Caleb and they still expected something was going to happen to them.

Finally, Nott shifted backwards to give him room. As she did so, she warned him, “No funny business.” He nodded gently.

Caleb sat still as Caduceus took his chin and examined his forehead and cheek, pressing gently to see if anything was out of place or injured beyond repair. It was always worrying to be struck near the eye, which was a delicate organ at the best of times. Thankfully, despite the painfully nature of the contusion and the aggressive nature of the hit, there wasn’t any damage that couldn’t be undone.

“Ribs?” he asked. Caleb shed his coat and pulled up his tunic and the shirt beneath to show off more bruises, these spreading over his chest and side. Caduceus’s frown grew deeper and his eyebrows furrowed as he examined these. There was definitely a little bleeding. Nothing mortal, but enough that it should never have gone without treatment of some kind. Luckily, He was here and can correct that now.

Caleb winced slightly as Caduceus ran his fingers over them. Looking the Human dead in the eye, “Just a little tingle,” he said. “Maybe some pressure and discomfort as I guide these back where they belong. Hold your breath if you need to.” Caleb gave a hesitant nod, allowing him to continue. It took a few moments for the worse to heal, and after it did, both of them were out of breath. Nott handed him a small makeshift cup filled with water before going to hover around Caleb, how was running his figure along his now healed ribs.

A few minutes later, Nott let out a sigh and turned to him a more trusting look in her eyes. “Thank you, Caduceus,” She said as she pushed her hood down. Caduceus was expecting a halfling or perhaps a gnome, like those from Hupperdook. Instead, he discovered the reason for the doll-like mask, and it wasn’t just to make her stealthier in the night. The yellow eyes were joined by a complexion the colour of fresh pine needles and ears more like his own than any human- twitching slightly. One was pierced and both were bandaged and torn from years of abuse. She was clearly waiting for his judgment.

“It was my pleasure,” Caduceus said, smiling kindly at her. He held out his hand to shake, now that they’d been properly acquainted, but instead of responding, she took a step back, an unknown emotion clouding her eyes.

“I can’t,” she said quietly as she looked down slightly, her tone an emotion Caduceus couldn’t quite pin down.

His eyebrows lifted and he tilted his head slightly in curious, “Can’t what?”

The look of vulnerability was back. Nott looked over her shoulder at Caleb, who shrugged his shoulders with a small smile. Nott sighed again, a sound that merged into a growl. “Well, why not?” she said. “It’s not like it’s a big secret nobody knows.” And she began clumsily pushing back her sleeves.

Caduceus saw the damage even before she held out her wrists for him to see. He’d seen animals missing limbs before, either from birth or injury. Once, his sister had taken off his finger with a spade, and he’d had to carefully knit the flesh back together. Despite his best efforts, it had scared, like a ring of pink flesh. Nott’s maiming, though, was on a different level of magnitude. This was not the mangled stumps of a farming accident or the organic lumps of a birth defect. These were the marks of deliberate, brutal acts of violence.

While they were cleaner than any tool but a bladed weapon could make, it clearly took more them one slash to do what they did. The scars where smooth but it looked as if there were tiny scratches covering them. And they were clearly healed by poor magic. No attempt had been made to cushion the joint of her wrist, and he knew the thin covering of skin there must bleed and tear, that the bone so close to the surface must be acutely painful when stimulated. It was horrible to look at and know that it was done to her.

“Oh, my friend,” he said, with deep sympathy, meaning it when he said ‘my friend’. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was the Crownsguard, they did that,” she bit out. “Because I’m a thief. They did it the last time I was in prison, three ago now. The last time _we_ were in prison.” She growls slightly as she spoke and there was a hardened look in her eyes as she stared at her wrists before glancing sadly at Caleb, who turned away from her gaze.

Fear flooded through Caduceus, a feeling that grew thicker and more intense as he turned to Caleb, whose sustained silence now had an eerie quality. Caduceus had assumed he was shy, closed off, or perhaps just didn’t wish speak nor needed to. Nott’s statement was like a puzzle piece slotting into place. They had taken something from him as they had Nott.

“No,” Caduceus breathed out, his eyes widening as horror flooded his body.

“Yes,” Nott hissed, anger returning to her voice. “They maimed me, and they tried to silence Caleb. They thought it would stop him from using magic anymore. Heh, fools.”

Caduceus asked Caleb, “Did they,” but his voice failed. Caleb turned his head and opened his mouth, and Caduceus closed his eyes, in both sadness and anger. He felt he might be sick. Such butchery. How had he not choked immediately on his own blood? “Can you swallow?” Caleb nodded and looked away again.

Nott began to speak again, “They didn’t cut out all of it. And they didn’t let us bleed long. They wanted us to live with what they’d done. To never be able to as we wish again. Though, I was still scared he would starve before he learned to eat again. And as for me.” She looked at her wrists. “What kind of creature can live without their hands?”

“But you did live.”

“I lived because I had Caleb. They tried to break our souls, but our souls were already broken. They put us in the same cell and we learned to rely on each other to survive. We began to rebuild our selves, using each other as support. And we became strong because of it. Then we escaped because they underestimated us both.

“They thought he couldn’t cast any more spells, but he called Frumpkin and got us a thin piece of wire. I picked the lock with my toes. Caleb had to help me hold them steady. It took ages, and I cried almost the whole time.” Caleb shifted slightly and Nott sunk against his shoulder, “We lit the place on fire and watched it burn. Made sure they all suffered as we did.

“We travelled around together for a while, and eventually we stopped needing to rely on each other for everything. Though I know after a while we would have broken again without each other. So we stayed until two years ago, we came here and found that people needed help. And here we stayed.”

She looked down sadly at her arms, “Sometimes I still have nightmares. I still hear them laughing at us as we cried. And sometimes feel them, my hands, like they're still there, hurting.” For the first time, Caleb made a noise that was not a grunt or a hiss of pain. Instead, he hummed. Something soft and simple, and oh so gentle. Nott sniffed and rubbed her face with her sleeve. “I know it’s bad, Caleb. I know I shouldn’t hold onto it, but it still hurts-”

Of course, it still hurt. They had not merely been punished for a crime; they had been ruined by ruiners who had delighted in their ruining. Yet here they were, still surviving. “-But I know everything is okay now. We have each other and we are okay now.” They were like orchids, growing in place no one else could survive.

Things were okay. By which they meant they at least had a roof overhead. They had something to eat at the end of each day. They had partners in crime who helped them and who they were able to help in turn. As he mulled it over, an odd question occurred to Caduceus.

“How do you steal money?”

Nott smirked slightly, a nice change to the grim expression she had on for the last minute. She muttered something, and a ghostly hand appeared. It tugged on his sleeve for a moment and then disappeared. Proudly, Nott said, “its Mage Hand. Caleb taught me. It’s not practical for everything, but I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“That’s very clever.”

“I also rigged my crossbow to my forearm, among other things. It’s like a bracer, see? Different thinks can click in. And Caleb has figured out a lot of things, too! He can still do all his magic without speaking, even the verbal ones. He just doesn’t like talking in front of people because he thinks he sounds funny. But I think he speaks perfectly. He even figured out how to make message work!”

“I saw that earlier.” aid Caduceus, gesturing to his wrist. “You used some kind of code, right?”

“It’s a kind of military code. Caleb learned it when he was younger and in school.”

“And now you live here and work with the kids.”

“Yep, though we offered to make our one code but they incited,” Nott’s expression was soft as she spoke about the children. “We should eat and head to bed.”


	4. Chapter 4

Nott unselfconsciously settled herself into Caleb’s lap, and he fed her one piece at a time. It was clearly an accustomed ritual for them because they chatted freely the entire time, Nott between bites and Caleb with his hands, little signals or drummed patterns with his thumb. But while it was habitual for them, to Caduceus it was new, and it kindled his heart for these two people who depended on one another with such intimacy and selflessness. A small, soft smile found its way on to his face.

After they ate, the duo moved over to the pile of blankets in the corner. The Night cooled down the air so Caleb held out a blanket for Caduceus as he and Nott settled into the corner. Caduceus leaned against the wall, only a few feet from them, and covered himself with the blanket. Nott drifted to sleep quickly, tucked under Caleb’s arm but Caleb stayed awake for a while longer. He was clearly tired, evident by the bags under his eyes.

Then, Caleb shifted so he could reach Caduceus and to Caduceus’s surprise, he reached out and touched Caduceus’s hand. At first, his thumb just smoothed over the fur there, an echo of the children’s curiosity, and then he tapped out a message.

“Im sorry, I can’t understand you,” Caduceus whispered, almost sad. Caleb looked down and seemed to think for a moment, licking his lips as he did so. And then he looked up again, making eye contact with Caduceus.

Very softly, he murmured an extremely quiet, “ _Thank you_.” His voice was hoarse and the words didn’t sound right, certain sounds blurred and indistinct and sounded almost as if he was in pain, yet Caduceus understood. For stepping in when he didn’t have to. For healing him. For listening without recoiling in horror. For not looking at them with pity. It made Caduceus wonder how many people they truly trusted, other than one another. How many actually listened to their story and how many looked at pity as they did so.

He gripped Caleb’s hand gently, “You’re welcome, Caleb. I’m so very glad we met.” A strong gust of wind rattled the shutter, and Caduceus felt his hairs standing up. He forced his teeth not to chatter and he felt Caleb shiver slightly.

It must have woken up Nott up as well, because a moment later she said, “Oh just shut up and scoot over here. Might as well put that furry body of yours to use and give us some more warmth. You have big arms, too.”

Caduceus thought of his siblings, soft memories of childhood's hour when he giggled under the covers with his brother or rolled his face into his sister's side to warm his nose from a winter's chill. It had been a long time since he’d been invited that close, even with his dear friends. He shuffled in the hay until he felt both of his companions flush against him and looked at his own arms. He didn't often think of himself as large, but he was, proportionally. More than large enough to embrace them both. Tentatively, he laid his arm over Caleb's shoulder, letting it press down with natural heaviness.

Beneath the padded warmth and weight, Caleb sighed happily and Nott clucked her approval, mumbling a quiet, “Much better.” Caleb gently tapped out the same thing as he did before, so Caduceus figured that he was thanking him. Caleb’s cat, Frumpkin, settled himself on his chest and started purring loudly. Caduceus listened to the sounds of his new companions breathing, and the small noises the animals around the building made. It was much calmer than the busy streets and he was thankful for that as it was peaceful. A good portion of another tension, homesickness he had carried with him since the Savlierwood, had gone away for a bit too. He hoped his friends weren’t too worried either.

He leaned his cheek into Nott’s hair, who already drifted asleep again, and let himself drift in his thoughts. _‘Wildmother, did you bring me these people as you brought me the Nein?’_ he wondered and felt the answer stirring inside. It came in the form of a sense of rightness, of calm certainty. Which, of course, meant it was settled.

He imagined the look on Fjord’s face when he introduced him to their newest party members. ‘Seriously, Caduceus?’ he would probably say. Jester would like Nott, he knew. They would have enormous fun with that Mage Hand, playing pranks on unsuspecting victims. And Caleb had the kind of look in his eye that would kick Beau’s much-denied protective instincts into overdrive.

Molly, as always, would be the wild card. Probably they’d say something outrageous, but they would definitely be welcoming. Yes, that sounded about right. And none of them would care about Nott’s green skin (or missing hands) or Caleb’s haunted and sorrow filled eyes and hidden, broken voice. They would fit right in, as if they’d always belonged there. And perhaps they did. Caduceus let himself fall into a deep sleep with a smile on his lips, a feeling like destiny warming his heart.

The morning came quickly and Caduceus was woken up by Nott getting up. He opened his eyes as Caleb sat up and Frumpkin jumped on to his shoulders. Nott noticed he was awake, “Morning Caduceus.”

“Good Morning, Nott,” He said sitting up with a smile, “Good Morning, Caleb.” Caleb gentle tapped out a message on his hand, and Caduceus figured it meant good morning. Frumpkin rubbed against his hand and purred. Caleb handed him some of the bread from the night from before. He took it gratefully and nodded to him, still smiling gently.

Nott pushed herself up and opened the shutters, letting rays of sunlight into the building. Caleb looked at the now out candle which was almost done. He tapped out a message on the crate and Nott nodded, “Ya, we’ll need to replace it soon.”

Caduceus moved so he was beside the crate next to Caleb, who was sorting the coins that they got yesterday, sorting them equally into about 13 piles. He didn’t seem to have any trouble going through them. He probably was counting coin way before he came to Zadash. “How long do you plan on staying here?”

“I believe we are planning to leave today.”

“Then we should get you back to the town square and to your friends,” Nott said as Caleb stood up as well. Caduceus followed them out of the building and into the streets once again. People just started to exit their homes and sell their goods. Caleb separated for a moment, before returning back to Nott’s side, who leading Caduceus back out of the slums. When they reached the edge of the slums, Caduceus turned to Nott, “Thank you, Nott, Caleb, for your hospitality.”

“Don’t mention it,” Nott said, “You’re a good man Caduceus, I hope you survive your endeavours and do come back sometime.”

“Well, why don’t you come with me and my friends? We could certainly use you and your skills.”

“I don’t know about that,” Nott said looking up at Caleb who looked surprised by the offer, “We will have to think about it. Besides even if we do leave, we would need to make sure the children can take care of themselves and each other with our absence.”

“I understand, just think about, my friends.”

“Come see us next time you’re in town, and we’ll give our answer then.”

“Alright thank you, and goodbye, Nott and Caleb.”

“Good-Bye, Caduceus,” Nott said as Caleb waved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im working on the next chapter, but it might take a bit.


End file.
